A Joker's Revenge
by SodiumMan
Summary: Joker kidnaps Alfred and takes him to Jump City, Batman and the Teen Titans must team up to take him down.
1. Prolouge

I refound this old thing, and I kind of like it. Only...my writing is a bit subpar here. So I'm revising all previous chapters.

Now listen up, I'm only saying this once:

Disclaimer: I don't own shit. Well, I own my shit, just not DC's shit. Which is the better shit. I guess. Shit.

...

Easy. It had been too easy. Batman frowned as he watched the last of Joker's henchmen flee into the night. It had been so straight forward...A bunch of goons dressed as clowns attempting to rob Gotham Bank. It wasn't like Joker to be so straight forward

He dismissed his misgivings, _"I'll figure out what he's up to when I get back to the cave."_

...

He drove the Batmobile in through the hidden entrance, and parked it. Jumping out, he called, "Hey! Alfred! Alfred, where-"

His voice faltered off as his eyes adjusted to the dim light of the Bat Cave.

The place had been destroyed, the walls spray painted with obscene gestures and happy faces, and in the middle of the wreck laid Alfred's coat, neatly folded, with a jack-in-the-box slowly playing on top of it. As the song reached its climax, a tortured looking jester's face popped out of the box, accompanied by a ghastly laughter that filled the cave. Held in the Jester's grinning mouth was a note. It read:

_Batsy Batsy, what's a Bat to do? Lost his butler, did he?_

_You want him back? Jump City's the name, play time is the game!_

At the bottom of the note was a simple playing card, marked with a big red 'J'.

"Joker…You've crossed the line", Batman growled through clenched teeth.

...

Lightning flashed, thunder boomed, and Robin couldn't sleep. Something just didn't feel right. Sighing, he got up and left his room.

_"If I can't sleep, might as well train."_ He thought.

As he went through the TV area, the lightning flashed again, silhouetting a figure by the window.

"You…!" hissed Robin, as he extended his Bo staff.

The shadow gave no acknowledgement. "Why the _hell_ are you here!" screamed Robin as he unleashed a furious attack.

"Why can't you just leave me _alone_?" The figure did not respond, as it gracefully dodged every blow.

Then one of Robin's more wild swings smashed open a window, activating the Titan's alarm system, lighting up the room.

"Robin! What's going on! Why did the alarm…" Slow Cyborg and the other Titan's shouts trailed off as their steps slowed.

"Its…Its…"

"The Batman, I know" responded Robin to Cyborg's spluttering.

"What I _want_ to know is what he is doing here."

"Robin…" the cloaked figure croaked, his voice hoarse. Robin mentally frowned at this _"Since when has Bruce's voice been hoarse…?"_

"Robin…" he rasped again suddenly sounding…_old_,

"Robin…he's got Alfred…"

Robin gasped, "No…"


	2. Strange Allies

I've changed the scene around a bit, sorry if it flows a little weird...

...

**The Next Day**

All the Titans and Batman were gathered in the lounge for a discussion of just what was going on.

"Friend Robin…Who is this 'Alfred' you and friend Batman speak of so dearly?" inquired Starfire.

A look of surprise went across Batman's face as he turned to Robin, "You're telling me that they don't know who you are?"

"They know that my name is Dick and that I like my privacy." Said Robin through gritted teeth, "and that's _all_ they need to know."

"Oh?" was all Batman said. But combined with that raised eyebrow and slight smile, that I-see-Robin-you-kept-your-identity-secret-to-protect-me smile that reminded Robin of every single reason why he had moved from Gotham. Robin glared at him.

"Well, I guess we're both going to have to come out into the open with our identities if your fellow teammates are going to have any clue as to what is going on."

"I realize that _Bruce_ and was just about to get to that point!" snapped Robin. Batman just gave another one of his infuriating smiles.

"Um…guys? Hate to break up the glaring contest but…can we get a move on with the meeting? I'm hungry…" Beastboy's voice slowly became quieter and quieter and faded all together under the duel gazes of the famous Batman and the Boy Wonder.

"Care to do the honors…_Dick_?" asked Batman.

Robin held held his gaze for a beat longer, then dropped his eyes. He did not speak.

Batman just shook his head slowly.

"Fine, I'll tell them. This is highly confidential. I trust this room is secure?"

"Yeah, state of the art security to prevent infiltration, one way reflective glass on the walls, and even a low level EMP charge constantly flowing through the walls to disrupt any sort of bug that might be planted." replied Cyborg.

"Yeah, although that one's a pain in the butt, we have to get amplifiers for the microwave and my Gamestation just to get them to work!" complained Beastboy.

Beastboy slowly wilted under the collective glares of his team mates, "Ok, sorry! Bad time to bring it up! I'll be quiet now! Promise!"

With Beastboy's silence promised, the group slowly turned back to the brooding Knight.

Although he sat on the same couch as everyone else, he seemed to tower over the teens. He sat staring at his hands for a moment, and then let out a soft sigh.

"My real name is Bruce Wayne, and Robin is Dick Grayson, my ward."

There was a stunned silence.

"I do not understand, what significance is this name 'Bruce Wayne'?" asked Starfire, confused.

"What…signi…WHAT SIGNIFICANCE?" hollered Beastboy, "THE SIGNIFICANCE IS THAT HE IS THE OWNER OF WAYNE INDUSTRIES! THAT MAKES HIM ONE OF THE TEN RICHEST MEN ON ALIVE!"

"It's true…Wayne Industries makes everything from our videogames to my cybernetic parts." Confirmed Cyborg.

"My goodness! So friend Robin is royalty, yes?" asked Star.

"Er…not quite Star" replied Robin, slightly embarrassed with the reactions of his friends, "more like just very, very rich."

"Now _that's_ the understatement of the century." Remarked Raven, "but honesty, I'm not surprised."

"Not…not…NOT SURPRISED? HOW CAN YOU NOT BE SURPRISED WHEN YOU JUST DISCOVERED YOUR FRIEND IS THE SOLE HEIR TO A MULTIBILLION DOLLAR CORPORATION?" spluttered BB.

"Well…if you think about it…_someone_ funded the construction of the Titans' Tower." There was a brief silence from Beastboy as he considered this.

"You know…I never thought about that…"

"That's because you don't think!" replied Raven.

"Now that we're done shouting and jumping around can we _please_ get back to business?" asked Batman, with a raised eyebrow. The room elapsed into a bashful silence.

"Now as you know, the Joker began terrorizing Gotham not long after I put on the cowl. He has always been a threat, but now he has Alfred…my butler and dearest friend."

In a much quieter voice, almost to himself, "he was the one who raised me, gave me strength to go on day after day…he has taken care of me since my parents died…"

"Wait…hold up…if Joker's got your butler…doesn't that mean…he knows who you are?" asked Cyborg.

"Exactly…" replied the Dark Knight grimly, "and that is why, among many, many other reasons…when I catch up to him…he won't be going to jail."

"WHAT!" exploded Robin, surging to his feet, "WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? ARE YOU GONNA GO OVER THERE AND _LECTURE_ HIM? SPANK HIM MAYBE? SAY 'NEVER DO IT AGAIN' AND LET HIM WALK AWAY _SCOTT FREE?_"

"No…" replied Batman softly, staring Robin straight in the eye, "When I catch up with him…I plan to kill him."

Robin took a step back, as if he had been physically struck.

There was a tense silence as the former sidekick stared at his mentor. Robin opened his mouth, only to be cut off by a tremendous _CRASH!_, as a rocket flew threw the window, landing squarely in the middle of the group.

Everyone immediately scattered, but after a tense pause, there was no explosion. Everyone cautiously crept back around the rocket.

"And _this_ is why I keep a _hidden_ lair." Growled Batman, "_Not_ a giant 'T' in plain view."

"Yeah? Well your 'hidden lair' didn't help Alfred much did it?" retorted Robin, and was immediately sorry for his comment when he saw Bruce's head drop in shame.

"I… I failed him…" whispered Batman.

"I'm sorry, am I interrupting something?" came that oh-so-familiar cold smooth voice. Robin whirled around to see _his_ face in the screen…that orange and black mask…that mask that had haunted Robin's dreams for over two years now…_Slade_.

"_YOU…!_", Robin started

"Now, now…I'm not here to fight…it has recently come…painfully…to my attention that the Joker is now in town. He has taken something of…value…from me, and I require your help in getting it back."


	3. Talking with the Enemy

Robin narrowed his eyes, "How can we trust you? How do we know that you aren't in fact working _with_ Joker?" he demanded.

"Well, naturally you would be wary of any approach on my part," replied Slade coolly, "So I took the liberty of coming to your base of operations as a sign of good faith. Look out the window."

Everyone sprinted to the window, and sure enough, there stood the distinctive form of Slade outside their door. He turned and waved up at them.

"Oh sure, that's what you say, but how do we know that's not-" began Robin.

"-one of my many robotic clones?" finished Slade.

"Here, I'll prove to you that it's really me…Watch closely now." And then, to everyone's shock, Slade removed his mask. Underneath was a man, surprisingly old, noted Robin, with neatly trimmed white hair, a goatee, and an eye patch on his right eye.

"May I come in now?" he called up to them, smiling sardonically.

"I still don't trust this." Hissed Robin to the others, "For all we know this guy is just another one of Slade's henchmen!"

"I agree with Robin," said Starfire, "Slade has proved himself as a most untrustworthy person."

"Uhh…guys? What happened to Batman?" asked Beastboy.

"What do you mean…?" asked Robin, turning around, and then his eyes widened in shock. The Dark Knight was no longer there.

"Robin! I found him!" exclaimed Cyborg still looking down through the window, "He's talkin' to Slade!"

"_WHAT?_" Robin shouted, rushing to the window, and sure enough, there was the Dark Knight talking calmly to Slade.

"Duuuude! I gotta learn how he does that disappearing trick of his!" exclaimed Beastboy in awe.

"What? It's cool!" exclaimed Beastboy, trying to defend himself against Robin's glare.

"Cy, can you bring up the feed from the cameras up at the front? I want to know just what their saying." Said Robin, breaking off from his death glare at Beastboy.

"Sure…but the sounds still out, I haven't gotten around to fixing it…" muttered Cyborg as he tapped away at his arm, bringing up a live feed from the hidden cameras stationed strategically around the base, then isolating the one from the front.

"It doesn't matter…" said Robin, smiling wryly, "Now that "Slade", if that's really him, has removed his mask, I can read his lips."

Robin stared intently at the screen.

"Friend Robin? What is it they are saying?" Starfire asked gently.

"Huh? Oh right sorry…forgot that lip reading isn't a common thing…" said Robin, embarrassed.

"Uhh…Lets see…he's saying…"


	4. Please! It's a children's show!

Last of my revisions. Next time, a real update...?

...

"So, you're the infamous Slade." said Batman, eying Slade.

"Yes, and you're the dreaded Dark Knight, scourge of Gotham's underworld." replied Slade

"We've heard of your exploits, even over here in lovely Jump City, although many of the small time crooks think you're just a myth; a bogeyman for criminals, if you will."

"I assure you, I am very much real." answered Batman.

"Since you have to most experience with this Jester fellow, am I correct in assuming that you'll be leading this merry little escapade?" asked Slade.

"It's Joker, not Jester, and right now, I'm not even sure if the little ones are going to be joining us." replied Batman.

...

"HEY! I resent that!" Shouted Beastboy, "I'm just as good as any of those old f-mrgph!"

Beastboy was abruptly cut off by a gag of dark energy, courtesy of Raven.

"Quiet please, I can't hear" she remarked, as she bound Beastboy with more ropes of dark energy.

...

"…I naturally assumed that you would want your old protégé with you for this." remarked Slade, "If you don't want him anymore, I'd be more than happy to take him off your hands."

Robin's eye twitched after repeating that line.

"Robin and I have had a…difference…in opinions" replied Batman

"And to be perfectly frank, right now you are the better choice in partners. I need someone who knows Jump's underworld. Criminals usually aren't very open with me, and breaking arms gets rather tiring after awhile."

...

"He's picking _Slade_ over _me_?" asked Robin, incredulous, "Oh that is some bullshi-"

"ROBIN! PLEASE! Come on man! This is a children's show!" exclaimed Cyborg.

"Mph! Mrgrph! MMMM!" exclaimed Beastboy through his gag.

Raven canceled her powers, releasing Beastboy from his gag.

"You guys! Batman and Slade just walked off!" he gasped out.

* * *

Oh noes! Just where have Batman and Slade gone off to? This author better think of a way to bring the Titans back into this story, otherwise he's put this in the wrong category!


	5. The Exposition Takes Place

I will not apologize for taking so long to update. Take what you can.

...

"Starfire! You and Raven scan from above, Cy, you and Beast Boy are on ground, come on, we need to move before the trail gets cold!"

"Robin! Calm down! We have to think this through", Raven interjected, grabbing his arm as he lunged for the door.

"What are you talking about? Batman just walked off with _Slade_, he said he's going to _kill_ the Joker! There's no time for this!"

"Naw, she's right Robin, you are WAY too emotional right now, and you're not thinking clearly." Added in Cyborg, helping to restrain the struggling Robin.

"Think, Robin, THINK! We've never managed to find Slade when he doesn't want to be found, and I'm assuming the same will go for Batman. Rushing out now without a plan will only lose us time."

Raven's voice finally penetrated to fog of panic that had been clouding Robin's mind. With a sigh, he went limp.

"You're right. And I doubt either of them will move until nightfall anyway. We have until then to plan."

…

After a quick swim ("Surely the great and might Batman isn't afraid of getting a little wet?") off the island, Batman followed Slade down into the city's sewer system, to come up a few minutes later in the more run down area of Jump City. When finally at the abandoned warehouse that Slade was using as a temporary safehouse, he confronted him.

"Before this goes any further, I have to know what the Joker took from you. I may be done playing the hero, but I will not be a part of recovering some sort of doomsday weapon either."

"Please, do you think me so pitiful as to seek help to recover something as petty as a weapon?" replied Slade, as he walked to a shelf carrying a varied array of explosives and bladed weapons, and began secreting them throughout his body.

"No, I'm afraid that what was taken from me is much more valuable to me than any doomsday weapon could ever be."

Turning, Slade examined Batman slowly.

"We're not so different, you and I. In more ways than one." He moved fluidly to the computer on the far wall, examining the contents, "my sources have been tracking the Jester fellow's movements, and reports have confirmed that he has not one, but two elderly gentlemen in is care."

Batman's eyes widened slightly at the implication.

"That's right" confirmed Slade, conveying his mirth quite effectively despite still wearing his mask, "You didn't think you were the only mask who had a dearly loved butler, did you?"

…

"Any way you slice it, we lose the information war. Slade is going to have a much better grasp of the criminal underworld than we ever will."

"Aw common, we'll just go and beat up a few baddies, we'll get what we need, right?"

"I don't think it'll be that easy, Beast Boy. We won't get any higher up than the petty thugs."

"Well perhaps if we ask them nicely?"

Robin sat silently throughout his teammates bickering and brainstorming. Hands clutched in front of him, he stared broodingly ahead.

"Friend Robin, what is your thoughts on this matter?" inquired Starfire, noticing his decided lack of contribution to the planning.

Robin stayed silent a beat longer, then slowly raised his head and looked at all of them.

"I have a plan, but you guys might not like it."

"Well its gotta be better than what we got, so lay it on us, man." replied Cyborg.

"To get information, we're going to need to infiltrate Jump City's criminal underworld. And to do that," he paused and looked at Cyborg, "We're going to need help."

...

I've noticed I like to use talking a lot to set exposition. I'm sure more action-y scenes are coming up soon. Next time, I give everyone a wardrobe makeover. Because I can.


	6. A Deal

Look, update. How strange.

...

"Robin, man, you sure about this?" whispered Cyborg as they were all ushered into a large white room.

"We don't have a choice" Robin replied back tersely.

The Titans stood in a large plain white room, the only furniture were a few chairs and a table. A one-way mirror was behind them. It looked almost like the type of interrogation rooms that are on TV crime shows. Except that this room had automated turrets mounted on each corner, double steel reinforced doors, and a full battalion of armed guards outside the door. They were at Jump City Maximum Security Prison. Satisfied that everything was situated, Robin nodded at the one way mirror. The captain on the other side saw the signal, and buzzed the door open. Three figures were slowly wheeled in by petrified guards. The first one was a young girl with skin tinted ashen gray, and pale enough to match Raven. This was offset by a blaze of hot pink hair and matching eyes. The second was a small bald kid whose round face and prominent ears made him look almost comical. The last one was a hulking giant, almost eight feet tall, with long dirty orange locks of hair. All three of them were tightly restrained, the first two with straitjackets, the last one in a large steel contraption. They were the soldiers of HIVE, and evil organization that Cyborg had infiltrated and destroyed a few months ago.

"Well well well, if it isn't the Teen Butt-ans here to visit!" sneered Gizmo.

"What do you want?" asked Jinx. Her normally mischievous personality seemed to have fled upon seeing Cyborg. She asked the question directly at him, ignoring the other Titans. Mammoth just sat in the back, grinning maliciously at the teen superhero group.

"We're here to offer you a deal." Robin answered steadily.

"A deal? Hahaha! You make deals with nasty-wasty bad guys like us? Wait until the _Daily Jump_ gets a load of this!" cackled Gizmo.

"We don't "deal" with traitors." Replied Jinx, still looking only at Cyborg.

"I told you this wouldn't work." Muttered Raven from the back.

"If you help us with this, I can get you a reduced sentence, possibly even parole." Continued Robin.

"I _said_, we don't _deal_ with _traitors_!" by "traitors" Jinx was practically shouting, her eyes taking on a pink glow. The guards moved to restrain her, but Cyborg held up a hand.

"What do you want from me, huh? An apology? I'm a hero, you're a villain. I took you _down_. That's all there is to it."

"All there is to it? I _trusted_ you and you took _everything_ from me! HIVE was my family. I considered _you_ my family. You destroyed it. What right do you have? WHAT RIGHT?"

Pink snakes of electricity were running along the straitjacket now, and the lights had begun to flicker. The guards shifted nervously, but Cyborg never took his eyes off Jinx's.

"I'm sorry."

And with that, she stopped. Her head dropped for a beat, and when it came back up, the old mischievous glint had returned to her eyes.

"Fine. You said you wanted to make a deal? Let's deal. We'll help you with…whatever it is, and in exchange, Gizmo gets 20 minutes alone with Cyborg, while he's powered down. Final offer."

"Alright!" cheered Gizmo.

"What? That's insane! No way we're going to let-"

"Hang on, Robin," Cyborg interjected, "this isn't a decision for you to make."

"What?" asked Robin incredulously, spinning around to face Cyborg, "You can't be seriously considering this can you?

Still looking directly ahead at Jinx, Cyborg replied, "We don't have a choice, remember? She…they trusted me once. I guess it's time for me to return the favor."

"Excellent." The smile Jinx had would have given even battle-hardened soldiers a chill down their spine.

"I guess the only thing left to do now is leave this dump."

"I'll go talk to the warden-" Robin began

"No need," interrupted Jinx, "we can find our own way out."

With a mighty roar, Mammoth popped out of the metal cage he had been trapped in. Gizmo seemed to be poking around in his mouth with his tongue. A few seconds later, there were surprised shouts and gunfire outside the room. Before the Titans could react, Gizmo's mechanical backpack crashed through the one way mirror and sliced neatly through his bonds. Jinx gave a surge of her pink energy and her straitjacket popped open with ease.

"Aah," she sighed, stretching, "That's much better. Well, should we go now?"

…

"Man, I can see the headlines "Teen Heroes Help Hive Students Escape Prison!"" complained Beastboy, pacing around the cramped living room of the rundown apartment Jinx had led them to. Ignoring him, Jinx smiled pleasantly at the rest of them while sipping on some tea she had brewed. Crossing her legs, she said, "As long as we're waiting for Gizmo to finish up with Cyborg-" Robin's jaw clenched at the mention of what was happening in the other room. "-let's talk business. You said you needed to get information from the criminal underground. Easier said than done. Most of my contacts were through HIVE, which, as you know, no longer exists. Still, there are a few people around who owe me favors."

Springing to her feet, she waltzed around the couch where Robin and Starfire were sitting.

"But there's just nooooooo way you're getting any of that information dressed like _that_." She indicated to their hero costumes. "Don't you have anything a little less…heroic?"

"I have my Red X costume, which should work." Replied Robin, "and if we dye Starfire's hair black, she could pass for her sister as long as she doesn't say anything."

"Cyborg can use his Stone persona again, no one outside of this group knows about it" continued Jinx, "I told Gizmo to add that in after he's done playing."

"That just leaves Beastboy and Raven" finished Robin through clenched teeth. It took every bit of discipline in him to not jump off the couch and save Cy from whatever it was that little snot-nosed computer geek was doing to him in the other room. He had to respect Cy's wishes, and trust him. Jinx seemed to positively love watching Robin squirm.

"Well after Gizmo finishes with Cyborg-" her grin got just a little bit wider as she saw Robin's hands clench, "-I can take greenboy and the goth shopping for some new outfits while you and your girlfriend get set up."

Raven just glowered at the pink haired girl. Beastboy was still too wrapped up in how the newspaper was going to ruin the Titan's good name to hear.

"She's not my girlfriend!" Robin snapped.

"Whatever" snickered Jinx.

Starfire watched the exchange, confused.

...

Some of that was a bit awkward, probably, and it's definitely a weird place to stop. But I have class in the morning and it's late. I might come back and re-edit this some time later. I'd also like to mention that positive reviews create a greater chance of me continuing this story without a 6 month break in between each chapter.


	7. Dark Titans

Alfred woke slowly. The first thing he did was groan, then groan again because the sound of his voice made his head hurt even more. And he hadn't even opened his eyes yet. The pounding on the inside of his skull reminded him a bit of a time when he was younger, and had challenged a large Irishman to a drinking contest. Except that the pain he was feeling now was about thirty times worse than that.

He felt hands pulling him gently into a sitting position and a voice saying "Easy chap, there you go, have some water. The nerve gas this madman uses takes a number on you."

He felt (because he knew better than to open his eyes at this point) a metal flask being held to his lips. Cool water sloshed against his mouth as he tried to drink some down. He promptly vomited it back up.

"There we go; flush it out of your body, there's a good sport."

After several more dry heaves, Alfred felt confident enough to sip some more water. After several more minutes, he felt it might be safe to crack open his eyes. The dim light still made his head ache terribly, but at least he no longer felt the desire to take a drill press to his forehead.

Looking around, he discovered he was sitting in a dirty room bereft of any furniture. The floor was carpeted, but the carpet was so old and worn that it was no different than sitting on the cold cement that lay underneath. The only light came from (thankfully) a crack under the grungy double doors on the other side of the room. Alfred shivered slightly as he realized he was missing his usual jacket, and that the shirt he was wearing was torn and bloodied. There was a dim shape next to him, but he couldn't make out any of the features of his cellmate in the light.

"Alfred Pennyworth", he introduced himself, extending a hand.

"Wintergreen. William Wintergreen." The man took Alfred's hand in a firm clasp.

"Any idea where we are, William?"

"None, blast it. The madman ambushed me and hit me with some sort of nerve agent, we could be halfway to Gotham for all I know."

"No," said Alfred, rising unsteadily to his feet, "He wouldn't stay there, not after taking me. Too easy to track, you see. He would take me somewhere new, foreign. Somewhere that would put my master off his balance."

"I say, just who do you work for? Some sort of policeman?"

"Oh damn." Muttered Alfred, realizing he had said too much. The gas was still making thinking a little difficult, and he had been so absorbed in examining the door and trying to figure out just where he was. Any sort of advantage he could give Master Bruce at a critical moment could help save lives.

"Where did you say you were from again?" Alfred asked, dodging the question.

"I didn't." replied Wintergreen, his voice hard.

There was a tense moment, then Alfred's shoulders sagged and he sank to the floor.

"Look, we can't be fighting. Not when the Joker holds us captive. We're going to need every little advantage we can get just to stay sane."

"The _Joker_? Is that the bloody madman who kidnapped us?"

Wintergreen paused, and did a mental calculation of the last few sentences Alfred had spoken.

"My God! You can't mean to say that your employer is…?"

Alfred simply buried his throbbing head in his hands.

"I need a drink."

…

"Uhg, who is this stupid pig they got modeling my outfit? She looks simply atrocious!" exclaimed Jynx, waving the cheaply packaged "Teen Super Villainess" knockoff costume around.

"Hey guys! What do you think?" called out Beastboy, emerging from the changing room in a very poorly fitted Batman costume.

"I think it's got a certain appeal, right?" he asked, flexing and posing in front of the mirror.

Jynx giggled, Raven simply sighed.

"This is a waste of time."

"Don't be such a Debbie downer!" Jynx pouted.

"We've been here for three hours and we still haven't found anything for Beastboy."

"It's not my fault!" complained Beastboy. I'm green! That's really hard to hide! Plus, anything looser than my usual costume will rip when I transform."

Raven looked thoughtful. "I think I have a solution. Come on."

…

It was nearing sundown, and both at the Titan Tower and the abandoned warehouse, people began to suit up.

Robin paced the room tensely in his Red X costume. Starfire, concerned, trailed him, hovering slightly above the ground. She picked distractedly at the metal sleeves that were a part of her Blackfire outfit.

Jynx sat on the couch, filing her nails. Mammoth was leaning against the wall behind her, picking out lice from his hair.

Gizmo and Cyborg were putting the finishing touches on Beastboy's "costume". It had been simple enough after Raven had thought of it. They simply had Beastboy transform into a gorilla, then painted him black. Cyborg and Gizmo then went about quickly crafting some cosmetic armor for him. With the heavy spiked breastplate and the large metal wristbands, Beastboy looked quite intimidating. The final touch was a device Gizmo had invented in his free time, a neural receiver/transmitter. Simply put, it would allow Beastboy to vocalize his thoughts without having to transform back into a human. After they attached it, they stepped back to admire their handywork.

"Does it work?" came a voice from Beastboy's neck, where Gizmo had installed the device.

The voice was enough to startle Robin out of his pacing.

"…Why does he sound like James Earl Jones?"

"Well his normal voice is so wimpy, you know? I was trying to think of a voice that really puts some _fear_ into people…and who's more scary than Darth Vader?" Gizmo grinned.

"Luuuuuke, I am your faaaatheeeeer!"

"_That's_ why it won't work."

"Fine, fine, I'll change it to something else."

"Aw man, I liked that voice!"

"What's taking Raven so long?" Robin wondered out loud, looking out the window, "Sun's almost set."

"Alright. I'm ready."

Raven had emerged from her darkened room. She had traded her normal purple cloak for one of midnight black whose ragged edges were long enough to drag along the floor. She had scribbled weird symbols all over her body with a magic marker, but otherwise looked the exact same. Jynx burst out laughing.

"THAT'S your idea of a costume?"

Even Starfire seemed doubtful of Raven's wardrobe choice. "It seems…nice?" she added helpfully.

Raven sighed, dreading this moment. "It's not done yet. Watch."

She closed her eyes and chanted under her breath. Her eyes began to glow the familiar white, but then abruptly shifted to red. The runes on her body began to glow, brighter and brighter, until they were nearly blinding, and then they vanished into her skin. Where Raven had stood now towered a shadowy figure, taller than even Mammoth. Its face and body were completely hidden by shadow, but four pairs of glowing red eyes glared out from under the hood. The cloak stirred in a non-existent wind, and the very air around it seemed darker than the rest of the room.

There was silence, broken by a single "whoa" by Beastboy, which summed up how all the others were feeling at the time.

"Well that was…impressive" remarked Robin guardedly.

"I have released some of my control over the demonic half of myself" rumbled Raven. When she spoke, her voice had a strange low rasp to it, and in the background one could almost swear they heard the screams of people being tortured. From within the depths of her robe, a ornate dagger was drawn out by a tendril of black energy and hovered over to Robin.

"This is the holy dagger of Sha'a. It seals demonic energies. I _should_ have it under control, but if not…you know what to do."

"Raven…I…"

"_Please_."

Robin took the dagger reluctantly and secreted it within his costume.

"Well," he said, looking around at his assembled team, "It looks like we're just about ready to go. Last thing on the agenda, we need to come up with some aliases for Beastboy and Raven."

"I've been thinking about it" chimed Beastboy, "And I've decided to go with Urko." He gave a big gorilla grin. Urko had been the name of one of the characters in the _Planet of the Apes_ television series he loved.

"You can call me…Magpie." Raven flashes a grin. It very noticeably had fangs.

"Alright team, let's head out!"


	8. Descent

This chapter is dedicated to reader1, who asked me to update.

...

Two shadows slid through the sewers of Jump City. In silence they navigated the twisting labyrinth of tunnels, with only dripping water and squeaking rats to keep the company. At last, they stopped in front of a dank wall, seemingly no different from any other. Slade bent down and ran his hand deftly along the bottom row of bricks, and then up the left side. There was a quiet _click_, and the wall swung inward.

A narrow set of stairs descended into the darkness. The two figures descended without a word. Slade produced a glowstick from within his suit and lit it. The sharp crack echoed off the walls as the soft green glow illuminated their way. Down, down, the stairs wound, a twisting path that led them into the very bowels of the city. At last the stairs exited to a small room, bare except for a large iron door on the far wall. Slade motioned for Batman to stay back, and approached the door. He rapped a complex pattern across the rusted door and waited. There was no response. Slade looked back at Batman and shrugged almost comically, and called out, "Spider, I know you're there."

Silence.

"Spider, you know this door will not stop me, and if I have to break it down, I will be cross. Do you want me to be cross, Spider?"

The door swung open, screeching reluctantly.

"Much better," Slade said, nodding. He walked into the blackness. Batman followed, a silent shadow.

Within, they found a sparse room, animal bones strewn everywhere. The air smelled of sweat and refuse. In the corner sat a gray mattress, broken and sagging. In the center of the room a small fire burned. As Slade and Batman approached it, a voice called out from the shadows, thin and reedy, "No further."

"Spider, how good of you to invite us in. I'm sure you know why I'm here."

"I cannot," the voice hissed. "You know this. The laws—"

"The laws can burn, along with the rest of this city. I've been crossed, Spider, and I _will_ pay him back in due. And you _will _assist me." Slade's voice was ice.

"No, no, they will come for me, I cannot—" the shadow's rambling turned into a strangled cry as Batman stepped into the light.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DOOONE?" wailed the Spider.

Slade's arm whipped across the fire and pulled the howling thin thing into the light. It was a small man, bundled in so many rags that he looked like a gray ball. His hair was black and greasy and hung down to his waist. Some of his rags had caught on fire when Slade pulled him across, and he howled as he beat out the flames. He looked up balefully at Slade, and Batman saw that the man's eyes were a light pink, and that he had no pupils.

"Traitor!" he hissed, baring his yellowed teeth.

Slade knelt down next to the ragged little man and leaned in. "You will tell me what I want to know, it is only a matter of how many bones I must break before you do."

The rat-like man giggled. "You cannot. You have thrown in with _him_. _He_ will not let you. He cannot."

Batman knelt down on the other side of Spider. "I am no longer in the business of protecting anyone. Tell him what he wants to know."

Spider's eyes grew wide.

…

"Who was he?" Batman asked as they emerged from the sewers.

"No one is quite sure. He is named Spider, because his web stretches across this city. Nothing occurs that he does not know. He brokers information to any willing to pay, as long as they respect his neutrality. I broke his laws tonight, and there will be...consequences for it." Slade glanced at the Knight. "You should have let me kill him, his assassins will slow us down," he added mildly.

Batman continued to walk, not looking at Slade. "I am not a killer. Not yet."

Slade shrugged. "Not yet," he agreed. "One man or two? What difference does it make?"

…

The group of 8 moved through the abandoned industrial district located on the outskirts of the city. Factories loomed everywhere, their vacant windows staring at the group with hallow empty deadness. They were not alone. Every once in awhile, Red X could spot a shadow moving along the rooftops, or creeping through the abandoned factories that lined the street. They all seemed to be heading in the same direction. He heard the reason before he saw it. A low throbbing beat began thrum, getting louder as they continued to walk. They finally rounded a corner, and Red X saw the source of the noise. It was a warehouse, larger than any of the ones they had passed before, and it wasn't abandoned. Flickering strobe lights blasted through the windows and music blared. From every direction, Robin could see young villains congregating on the building.

"What _is_ this place?" asked Urko, his mouth open in amazement.

"Hey, a girl needs to dance," replied Jynx, twirling. "Welcome to Club Zeus, the hottest villain nightclub this side of Jump City."

"Club _Zeus_?" asked Red X.

Jynx gave him an impish smile. "In Greek mythology, Zeus was the god that cast down the titans."

"The deal was for you to get us information, not to go _party_," growled Magpie from the back of the group. Her voice still gave Red X goosebumps.

"_Relax,_ miss grim-dark. Where else are we going to find information except where all the villains gather to hang out?"

"Let's just get this over with," said Stone, shouldering his way past Mammoth and Blackfire and heading toward the warehouse. He had been quiet since his private session with Gizmo, and Red X feared the worse.

_If anything happens to him…Bruce, I won't forgive you._ Red X vowed. With a growing sense of unease, the Titans followed Stone and the HIVE trio into the throbbing nightclub.


End file.
